The project to elevate the Khulna shipyard road into four lanes was granted approval 14 months ago but officials are still uncertain about when the construction work will begin.
Land for the project has yet to be acquired and there are also complexities regarding the acquisition documents.
Mizanur Rahman Mizan, lawmaker for Khulna 2 constituency, recently expressed discontent over the slow progress of the project.
Khulna Development Authority (KDA) proposed turning the road, from Rupsha River to Khan Jahan Ali Bridge, into a four-lane one as it is too narrow for vehicular movement.
Implementation of the project requires acquisition of 2.895 acres of land on both sides of the road, but the process is mired in complexities. Officials spent a year dealing with cases filed over the lands to be acquired, and preparing maps and other necessary documents.
The KDA applied to the district administration, seeking permission for acquisition in April this year, but did not have all the required papers. Preparation of documents is now underway.
KDA caretaker engineer Kazi Sabirul Alam said: “There were some complexities regarding the acquisition of land and it took us time to sort those out. However, I do not think this can be termed slow progress as any project involves initial complexities and hassles.”
“We are working on the problems in collaboration with the district administration and I hope everything will be resolved within a month,” he said.
“Tk50 crore has been allocated this year for land acquisition and compensation purposes. We will get an additional Tk12.5 crore in the first installment when we initiate the project. When the project received approval, its duration was estimated to be two years. However, it will require a one-year extension after experts are appointed for the main part of the work,” added the engineer.
Meanwhile, Deputy Project Director Arman Hossain is verifying the prepared documents and it will take two more weeks to complete. The papers will then be sent for ministerial approval.
The project, involving an estimated Tk98,90,48,000 in expenses, received the nod of approval on May 7 last year, and is supposed to be implemented by June next year.
The project includes beautification of footpaths in addition to developing the road which measures 3.778km in length and 60ft in width. The 92m median strip will be beautified with flowers to make it eye-catching.
